And so it begins…

17 April 2009By Alexandre

Ah, little lad, you're staring at my fingers. Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand/left-hand? The story of good and evil?

With a year (or so) to go before our film’s release, we decided it was high time to start a blog–or rather a production/post-production diary of sorts–to keep you guys regularly updated about our progress, discoveries and setbacks. Even if this beast of a project eats up most of my conscious time, I personally pledge to update this blog at least once or twice a week; and I’m sure that our producers will also chime in from time to time, so please check in with us often, post comments, send us suggestions, etc. No death threats, please. I mean, come on, guys, it’s only a documentary! Right, and STAR WARS is but mere entertainment. I’ve actually asked that question (is SW only a movie?) to most of our interviewees so far, and you wouldn’t believe the range of answers I typically get on that one. It’s actually a very complicated question to answer. As a documentarian, I have to consider both possibilities. There’s no doubt that STAR WARS is good, clean fun for the whole family; and no doubt that it’s also come to represent much, much more than that. I mean, to dismiss it as just a movie, you’d have to be pretty jaded, considering that it’s next to impossible to spend an entire day without stumbling upon some kind of SW reference. This reminds me of those who dismiss our doc, because (they say) who cares about what George Lucas did or didn’t do, should or shouldn’t have done? Right? I don’t think so. George Lucas is a towering figure in the world of entertainment. His legacy speaks for itself, and some of what he’s done is, no doubt, questionable. People talk, blog, write about him. All the time. He incites more virulent criticism from his fans than W from Camp Casey, or Obama from the newly born Tea Party. It’s a significant cultural debate, and it’s about so many things that it literally makes my head spin. That’s why I’m so passionate about making this doc, and why I’m starting this blog. So I can start ranting and venting as well; and don’t be surprised if I accuse the man one day, and defend him the next. I’m ambivalent as all hell about George. And I want to share this inner journey with you, because when the time comes for us to edit this thing, I’m going to have to be as objective as possible and leave my personal feelings on the cutting room floor (at least to the extent that they might cloud my better judgment). Also, this is a way to chat freely about all things George, so let’s not take this too seriously, shall we..? If I put my foot in my mouth, so be it. I’m just going to speak from the heart.

Tomorrow, I’ll be driving to Los Angeles (from Denver) to meet the rest of the crew (most of them are flying), because we have interviews scheduled in California pretty much through the rest of the month. We start with Jeff Bond (Editor-In-Chief of Geek Monthly) on Monday; Joe Nussbaum (GEORGE LUCAS IN LOVE), Jonathan London and Chris Gore on Tuesday; and then we’ll drive to San Diego on Wednesday to interview David Brin (STAR WARS ON TRIAL) and talk to the folks at Comic Con (that’s if they’ll talk to us!) Etc., etc., etc. It’s a long list, and I’ll do my best to write a quick report after each interview. Looking forward to this trip. Not looking forward to adding dozens of hours of footage to the 300+ hours we already have. Oh, well. Nobody can say we didn’t bring this upon ourselves.

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An Exhibit A Production in association with Quark Films
Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe